The Green Book of Household Hints by Marjorie Harris
Firefly Books
The title of this book is unfortunately a little misleading--readers who don't naturally label themselves environmentalists might think they're picking up a 217-page treatise on saving trees--but the tips in this book, although blandly laid out, are pretty practical and commonsense.
On dusting, the book offers these simple tips: dust before you vacuum. Use a clean, dry cloth that won't scratch. Work from the top down so you don't redistribute dust. Cover the head of a mop with a dust cloth to remove cobwebs in corners.
Nary is there a sentence in that section on hugging trees. The book, laid out in an A-through-Z format, covering items from carving chicken and turkey to fixing a broken cassette tape to protecting yourself in an earthquake.
Here's an "I should have thought of that" on mattresses: they need vacuuming. Hair, dead skin and other pollutants can cause allergic reactions--not to mention downright gross dust mites.
The book offers these hints: vacuum your mattress regularly, and sprinkle it with a room deodorizer beforehand.
Somewhere out there, "Hints for Heloise" tipster Heloise is gnashing her teeth at these common-sense tips.
Resources The Green Book of Household Hints
by Marjorie Harris (ISBN: 1552096009)
Keeping an Efficient and Ecologically Sound Home
(Firefly Books, September 2001)
Order this
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